2024-02-12 12:35:53
Researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) have developed a family of antimicrobial and biocompatible coatings (the body does not reject them) for all types of uses in the healthcare field: clothing professionals, sheets and pillowcases, medical curtains, masks, gloves, bandages for sutures and wounds, surfaces (operating rooms, diagnostic technology), instruments (scalpels, forceps) and prostheses and screws, with the aim of prevent the transmission of pathogens and, therefore, infections. This compound has different parameters (color, thickness and adhesion) so that it can be adapted to all types of uses.
In addition to all these characteristics, which the team reports in an article published in Chemical Engineering Journal this biomaterial has the peculiarity that it is inspired by the filaments with which mussels cling to rocks and other surfaces with such effectiveness that not even the most extreme conditions, including being under water and having high salinity, can cause them to come off.
The study of these filaments, which are usually removed in order to cook and eat the mussels, allowed the aforementioned researchers to identify that Its main components are catechol and polyphenolic derivatives.; and then copy them.
The resulting synthetic compound, as they wanted, has high resistance to different environmental conditions such as humidity or the presence of fluids; a great long term stability (in hip or knee prostheses, for example, it has to be for life) and, depending on where it is applied, it is also biodegradable.
This antimicrobial coating is the result of work that began in 2008 and in which, specifically, the UAB has collaborated (Vctor J. Yustefrom the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Institute of Neurosciences) and researchers from ICN2 (Daniel Ruiz-Molina and Salvio Surez-Garca) ; The first author of the article is doctoral student José Bolaos-Cardet.
As ICN2 researcher Salvio Surez-Garca explained to this newspaper, natural compounds (such as mussel filaments) favor obtaining more biodegradable, biocompatible materials with less antimicrobial resistance, compared to other bactericidal systems that end up generating resistance. and, therefore, they quickly lose effectiveness. In this case they sought, in addition to preventing the spread of pathogens and preventing infections, to be able avoid the induction of antimicrobial resistance and its cytotoxic effects on host cells and the environment, the scientist highlights.
BEFORE A WIDE SPECTRUM OF MICROORGANISMS
The team has tested the coating on paper, cotton, surgical masks and commercial plasters and in all cases have observed “intrinsic multi-pathway antibacterial activity with rapid responses against a broad spectrum of microbial species.”
The list of microorganisms analyzed includes those that have developed resistance to extreme environmental conditions (such as B. subtilis) and those considered mainly responsible for many current infections, particularly those acquired in the healthcare field (nosocomial): both gram-negative (E. coli and P. aeruginosa) and gram-positive (S. aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus – MRSA and E. faecalis) bacteria. And they have also demonstrated the effectiveness of the biomaterial against fungi such as C. albicans and C. auris.
Another relevant result of the research is that the coating is equally efficient in humid atmospheres (due to respiratory droplets and other biofluids).
Surez-Garca says that, in infection prevention research, they have the collaboration with the Hospital Clnic, the Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal) and the Hospital del Marall also from Barcelona.
DESTRUCTION BY DIRECT CONTACT
The antimicrobial activity of the innovative biocomposite, with which different products and surfaces can be coated by immersion or with a spray gun, is attributed to an initial destruction process by direct contact, in which The pathogen initially adheres to the coating through catechol molecules and other polyphenol derivatives.. Subsequently, a multi-way antibacterial effect is activated that induces a rapid (180 minutes for bacteria and 24 hours for fungi) and efficient (more than 99%) response against pathogens, causing irreversible damage to microorganisms.
The scientists involved (chemists, biologists, physicists, engineers, experts in nanoscience and nanotechnology, etc.) have sought another characteristic for this innovative biomaterial: that its production on an industrial scale is cheap; That is, it does not require a complex synthesis or purification. “We mechanically mix two compounds dissolved in water at room temperature“, summarizes Surez-Garca.
For its part, the UAB recalls that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN), antimicrobial resistance represents a great threat to human health worldwide, and will probably surpass cancer. as the main cause of death in the world in 2050. In this scenario, the development of more effective antibacterial materials is essential to reduce the spread of pathogens and prevent infections, especially in the health field, where they are the sixth cause of death in industrialized countries (the weight is even greater in developing countries).
This new biomaterial emerging from the academic scientific field, which will be transferred to the industrial fabric, has received a subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and other public aid.
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